Caring for Ryan
by albfic
Summary: Ryan had never known care while growing up, but now the Cohens are going to show him what it is all about.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1- THE ONSET **

Ryan couldn't wait for the bell to ring to sound the start of the lunch hour. The day had started out alright. In fact it had been pretty typical. Sandy had been the first one up in order to catch some surf. Ryan woke next and started breakfast. He liked doing this. Sandy was always afraid he felt obligated and Seth was simply grateful not to get food poisoning from Kristen. The truth was it was sort of relaxing and it was one way he could give back to the family that was giving him so much. He'd been more tired than normal this morning so he'd kept things simple with scrambled eggs and English muffins. By the time he'd finished Kristen had joined the land of the living and entered the kitchen with a smile as she grabbed a cup of coffee. Ryan had dished them both some food and they had eaten in companionable silence. It wasn't till they were nearly done that Seth had joined them. He was always last and yet somehow he was also always sickeningly cheerful and chatty. The silence was over the minute he entered the kitchen and soon Kristen and Ryan were forcefully engaged in conversations ranging from comics to world peace.

Usually the boys rode their bikes to school but today Kristen offered to give them a ride since it looked like it might rain later. Neither boy had wanted to say no to a free ride. Upon their arrival at school they quickly met up with their friends- Luke, Marissa and Summer. The group had lounged around till first bell and then head off to their separate classes.

It was second period when Ryan first noticed something was off. Apart from the lingering sense of exhaustion that had plagued him all morning, he was suddenly experiencing random bouts of chills. Considering he was almost never cold, this sent off warning bells that maybe all was not right in his world. Still he prayed it was just the air conditioning since he really could not afford to get sick with midterms approaching fast. By third period, though, it was apparent it was not the air conditioning as a headache joined Ryan's list of complaints. Somehow he made it through and that brought him to his current predicament in English. Fourth period was about half way finished and Ryan was struggling to focus. He liked English and he even liked the book they were reading currently, but for the life of him just keeping his head up was becoming a momentous task. The headache that had started last period had escalated quickly and he now felt nauseous on top of everything else. He prayed he could last the next twenty minutes.

It was at this moment that Ryan felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Looking up he noticed his teacher, Mrs. Beck, at his side. Ryan had always liked Mrs. Beck. She was an older lady with twenty years of teaching experience. She knew her subject well and taught it with a passion that caused her students to want to learn. On top of this she seemed to genuinely care about them. Ryan had never once felt her judging him despite his notorious past experiences both in Chino and here.

"Ryan, why don't you take this pass and head on to the nurse. It's clear to me that you're not feeling well." Her gentle voice said quietly so as not to draw the attention of the rest of the class.

Now normally Ryan would have refused, but right about now he was afraid that if he didn't take her up on the offer he might be displaying his breakfast to the rest of the class and that was far more embarrassing than leaving early.

"Thanks." He said instead. Taking the pass he shakily got to his feet. His head spun when he stood and he had to reach out to grab the desk to keep his balance.

"Do you need me to send someone with you?" Mrs. Beck asked her concern even more noticeable now.

"No, I'm good just stood up to fast." Ryan replied though he was fairly certain she didn't believe him so before she could call him on it he made his way to the door. By the time Ryan reached the hall way he could feel a cold sweat pour out over his whole body and knew he needed to find a bathroom soon. Thankfully there was one a few doors down. As quickly as his failing body could manage he made his way there. Relief flooded over him when he realized upon pushing the door open that he had the room to himself. Letting his bag drop carelessly to the floor he pushed himself into the first available stall and let his body fall towards the toilet. His head had barely covered the bowl when his stomach forcefully started bringing up everything he had eaten for breakfast and what felt like dinner the night before too. After a few minutes of violent puking Ryan let his head rest on his arms. His whole body was shaking from the ordeal and though he wasn't sure how it was possible he felt even more exhausted. He sat there for an unknown amount of time before finally pushing himself up and managing to head to the sink to rinse his mouth and wash his hands. Next he grabbed his book bag which felt like it weighed a ton and slowly started making his way to the nurse's office.

Upon arriving at the nurse's office he noticed she wasn't behind the desk. Assuming she would be back soon and was probably helping someone else he let his body sink into one of the waiting chairs and allowed his eyes to drift shut. When she still hadn't come out after a few minutes, Ryan pulled his knees up to his chest in the chair and wrapped his arms around them in an attempt to ward of the chills that had come back with a vengeance. He laid his head on his knees and prayed for relief.

The sound of footsteps and laughter drew his attention a few minutes later though he didn't move from his huddled position.

"Well Sherry thanks for the coffee- looks like you have a patient though."

"Indeed, I better check him out. He looks pretty bad. I'll see you around tomorrow." The nurse said to her companion as she stepped back into the room. She recognized the boy immediately. He'd been to her office a few times due to fighting when he first arrived though the last few months had been relatively peaceful for him apart from the occasional soccer related injury.

"Ryan, what seems to be the problem? I'm sorry if you had to wait long I had just stepped out to the teacher break room with Mrs. Walker to get a coffee as usually the period before lunch is relatively quiet."

"It's fine. Wasn't long."

"It's not fine if you're sick so tell me what's going on you look miserable."

"Headache, stomach, chills, really tired."

This was one thing she loved about this boy, apart from his soulful blue eyes that seemed to hold the weight of the world, he didn't mince words. You always knew where you stood with Ryan and he told it to you straight and as quickly as possible. In truth it made her job easier though sometimes he downplayed his injuries so she knew to probe a little more.

"Have you been sick?"

"Once just before."

"Do I need to send anyone to clean things up?"

The blush that suddenly filled the blond boys face was a sharp contrast to the paleness of earlier. It looked like he regretted his choice to violently shake his head in the negative also giving her an indication of just how much pain he was in.

"Alright don't worry I just wanted to be sure. Why don't you let me get a temperature and then we'll give one of your guardians a call and get you home or to the doctor okay?"

The nurse followed up her statement with actions as she quickly inserted one of the electronic ear thermometers into Ryan's ear. After a few seconds it beeped and she frowned when she read it.

"Were you feeling badly before you left home?"

"Not really just tired. Started feeling bad in second period but it wasn't unbearable till just now."

"Well I'm not surprised you feel badly your temperature is 102.8. If I recall correctly you tend to run a little high when you are sick though."

"Yeah."

"Well one things for sure. I am definitely sending you home. Who should I call?"

Ryan struggled to think for a moment, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what Sandy and Kristen had said over dinner last night about work schedules. Sensing his thoughts the nurse spoke up.

"How about I try Kristen first and if we don't get an answer I can call Sandy."

"Okay" Ryan whispered in agreement keeping his head as still as possible in an attempt to keep the percussion unit in his brain to a minimum.

The nurse waited a moment as the phone rang. Someone picked up on the third ring.

"Hello this is Kristen Cohen how may I help you?"

"Mrs. Cohen this is Nurse Anderson from Harbor. I'm calling about Ryan."

"Oh no what's wrong?"

"Well he came down to the office complaining of a headache and stomachache. He's running a fever of 102.8. Looks like it might be one of those flu bugs going around. Can you come pick him up?"

"Of course. Let him know I'll be there in ten minutes. I'll call his doctor to make him an appointment on the way too."

"Sounds good Mrs. Cohen we'll see you soon."

With that said the nurse hung up the phone and looked to Ryan.

"She's on her way. Would you like to lie down while you wait?"

Ryan thought that sounded good considering keeping his head up was becoming more and more of a chore. Right about that moment though his stomach gave another violent churn telling him of another location he probably needed to be in quickly. The nurse seemed to sense his predicament and grabbed a pink plastic container like the ones used in hospitals and handed it quickly to her patient. Ryan was grateful for her awareness as he was able to grab the container just in time. After an embarrassing few minutes of mostly dry retching Ryan's stomach seemed to have pity on him and stopped trying to turn itself inside out.

"You done?" the nurse asked gently rubbing circles on his back.

"I think so." He coughed out his voice hoarse from the recent abuse.

"Okay let me take that from you then."

"I'm sorry." Ryan said. He felt so ashamed. He couldn't remember the last time he'd thrown up in front of someone. It made him feel like a little kid.

"Ryan there is nothing to apologize for. You can't help being sick and I'm a nurse. If I can't handle a little bodily fluids, I'm in the wrong line of work. Here's a glass of water- sip and spit."

Ryan did as ordered grateful for a chance to rinse his mouth. Before the nurse could think of helping Ryan to lie down the distinctive sound of heels rung outside the door.

"Ryan?" Came the inquisitive voice of Kristen Cohen.

"Over here Mrs. Cohen." The nurse called out.

"Oh Ryan" Kristen said upon seeing the paleness of her foster son and the obvious evidence of recent sickness. "Let's get you out of here. Thank you Nurse Anderson for taking care of him."

"It was my pleasure. Let me have you sign him out here and then you two can go."

Kristen quickly filled out the needed paperwork and then grabbed Ryan's backpack and slung it over her shoulder. Next she offered a hand to the sick boy and gently pulled him to his feet. She kept hold of his elbow as she watched him tremble both from exhaustion and cold.

"Alright Ryan I got you. We'll take it slow. I'm parked right in front. You set the pace."

Slowly Ryan and Kristen made it out of Harbor and into her car. Kristen helped buckle in the sick boy to his dismay but the truth was he needed it as he couldn't seem to slow the trembling in his hands enough to manage the buckle anyway. After she got him settled she walked around to her side, got in and started the engine.

"Alright Ryan we are going to the doctor's office. They said they could fit you in."

"You don't have to go through all that trouble. I'm sure I could sleep it off at home." Ryan managed to get out between chattering teeth.

"Nonsense. You should know by now that's not how this family works. We pay medical insurance for a reason Ryan and you're included in that. We might as well put it to good use."

Sensing there was no way he could win this argument Ryan just closed his eyes and left himself in Kristen's hands. At least if he had to be sick he now had people who cared enough to look after him. This was really the first time he'd had anything more than a cold since moving in with the Cohen's. He'd dreaded this moment when his body would fail him and he'd have to be vulnerable to someone else's care. That had never gone well for him in the past. His mom was always to out of it to notice and her boyfriends just made it worse. His brother had tried but he was usually just a kid himself. The end results of serious illness had always meant some involvement with child protective services and a lot of grief. So far this time was starting out different though. Maybe for once things wouldn't be so bad. Maybe it would be okay to let his guard down and turn over the protection detail to his guardians until he felt better. Maybe this time somebody really would be there to take care of Ryan.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2- THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE

It took Kristen about ten minutes to drive them to the doctors. She had called ahead to let them know they were coming. They had said to come on in and warned her there might be a wait but they would fit them in. Apparently the whole of the O.C. was being hit hard by this bug. It seems germs have no respect for wealth and did not discriminate.

She found a parking place after a bit of searching. She had hoped for one close to the door so Ryan would not have to move far, but it seemed everyone else had had the same idea. After setting the brake she looked over at her foster son. He had managed to drift into a light doze on the way over a testament to just how rotten he must be feeling. She hated to wake him knowing he needed the rest, but she wanted to get him scene quick and on some medications if they could to help him heal sooner. With this in mind she reluctantly shook his shoulder to wake him.

"Ryan, honey, you need to wake up we're here."

Slowly the boy's eyes blinked open. He appeared a bit confused at first since this wasn't their home, but then it dawned on him that they must be at the doctor's office. With a grunt he sat up straighter and hit the button to realize his seatbelt. Meanwhile Kristen had made it out of the car and around to his side and opened the door for him. She offered him her arm and helped the unsteady teen out of the car. Once he was standing she gave him a minute to get his bearings. He brushed his hand lightly across his brow after a second and took a step towards the door swaying slightly. Noticing this Kristen once more grabbed his elbow after closing his car door. Together the two made it slowly across the parking lot. Stopping occasionally to let Ryan catch his breath. After what felt like forever to Ryan they finally made it to the door of the pediatrician's. The sign on the window read 'Dr. Peters Pediatric medicine'. As they walked through the door a bell sounded to announce their arrival.

Kristen let her eyes survey the crowded waiting room for a place for Ryan to sit. She noticed one in the far corner and walked him over to it.

"Here Ryan. You sit here and rest while I get you checked in. I'll be right back."

The boy didn't even acknowledge her words. He simply sat down and then curled himself into a small ball in the chair letting his head rest against the wall. Shivers continued to rack his thin frame as he tried to rest. Kristen gave him a deep sorrowful look and then quickly moved to start the intake process. After a few brief words with the registration nurse she had a stack of papers and was able to make her way back to Ryan.

This was Ryan's first visit to their doctor and Kristen's first time filling out paperwork for him. Usually Sandy did things like this for Ryan. Kristen took a deep breath and prayed she had all the needed information. Ryan technically had Medicaid but Sandy had insisted on getting him added to their insurance once Ryan moved in saying that Medicaid often didn't cover near enough or made you go to doctors that weren't the best. Kristen hadn't been sure she agreed with him at first, but now she was grateful for Sandy's stance. The insurance part was quickly filled out, but then came the hard part. Too many of the personal history questions Kristen didn't know. A stab of guilt filled her heart as she realized she wasn't even sure if her son had any allergies to medication. After collecting herself a bit she realized now was not the time to wallow in self-pity she needed to get these filled out so Ryan could be seen and get home to a real bed soon. Reluctantly she shook Ryan awake for the second time in ten minutes.

"I'm sorry sweetheart, but I need your help with some of these papers. I don't know all of your medical history."

"Oh." Ryan said simply. He struggled to sit up a bit straighter and started to just grab the paperwork to fill out on his own. The shaking of his hands though quickly indicated to Kristen that this would not work.

"No Ryan. I'll write you just answer okay?"

"K" the boy slurred clearly exhausted.

"So you have any allergies to medication?"

"Codeine and penicillin."

"Any medical conditions?"

"Had asthma as a kid. Haven't had trouble since I was 7 though. Get migraines sometimes. Had tubes in my ears as a kid. Have a heart murmur."

Kristen inhaled sharply at that. Her son has a heart condition.

"Don't worry doctor said it wasn't causing any problems."

Kristen wasn't sure she agreed with that or trusted any doctors Ryan had previously seen but for now she would let it slide until she could get it looked at closer by Doctor Peters.

"Any Surgeries?"

"Tonsils when I was 4. Umm I …." Ryan's voice trailed off suddenly causing Kristen's heart to pound wondering what was causing her son so much concern that he was afraid to share.

"What is it Ryan? What happened?"

In a voice barely audible Ryan muttered "I got shot."

"What?" Kristen's voice rose causing some of the people around them to turn their heads.

"What did you say?" She repeated a little quieter.

"I got shot once when I was 6. A drive by. I got hit in the stomach. It missed all the major organs but I was in the hospital a few weeks."

"I'm so sorry that happened to you Ryan is there anything else?" Kristen asked changing the subject sensing he didn't want to go into any more details at this time. Kristen was going to have a long talk with Sandy later. He had Ryan's whole file. She had never wanted to know everything in it, but now she was reconsidering. What horrible things had this child been through and how could she help him? It was amazing the intelligent caring young man he was despite his troubled past.

"No that's it."

"Any other things they should know?"

"Um I get allergies in the spring. I get sinus infections and ear infections sometimes. My family has a history of diabetes. That's it- I think."

"That's good Ryan. I should be able to finish now. Anything else they need to know they can ask us later. Why don't you get some more rest?"

"K." He said once more curling in on himself.

Kristen walked the papers up to the front desk.

"Is there any way I can get a blanket for my son? He's shivering pretty badly." Kristen asked the nurse.

"Sure. Let me get one. Hopefully you won't have to wait too long. I saw him when he came in and noticed he looks a lot worse than most of the others. I mentioned this to Doctor Peters and they are going to try and work him in sooner." The nurse responded.

"Thank you. I'm pretty worried. I have never seen him this sick before."

"I get it." The nurse said. "Here is your blanket. We'll call you back when we have a room."

With that Kristen headed back to Ryan draping the blanket over him as she sat down.

A mumbled thanks was heard at the gesture.

The nurse was true to her word and twenty minutes later Ryan's name was called.

"Come on sweetheart they called your name." Kristen said as she shook him awake.

Ryan slowly uncurled himself from the chair and with Kristen's assistance walked to the back room.

"Hi Ryan. I'm Kelly your nurse. I am sorry you are not feeling well. I need to get your height and weight and then I'll take you to a room. I'm afraid you have to give up the blanket for a minute though."

Ryan regrettably unwound himself from the blanket and stepped on the scale. The nurse was quick and efficient and soon he had his blanket back and was being ushered into a room.

"Alright hop up on the bed and let me get your temp and blood pressure."

Ryan with Kristen's assistance did as asked. The nurse soon had a thermometer in his mouth and a cuff on his arm.

"Well Ryan your blood pressures a little low 105 over 70 and your temps 103.2"

"That's up from when he was at school." Kristen interjected worriedly.

"It's okay Kristen; I run high and remember I haven't taken anything for it yet. Also my blood pressure is usually low so don't get too worried." Ryan interjected softly.

"Well regardless that's a high temp. I'll let Doctor Peter's see these and he should be in shortly. Sit tight till then." With that said the nurse was out the door.

In what was really a fairly short amount of time for a doctor's office, the Doctor was soon entering into Ryan's room. Ryan was particularly impressed considering his history in clinics was waits that took hours.

"Hello Kristen and Ryan. I am Doctor Peters." The doctor looked to be about sixty with kind eyes and a gentle manner. His hand was extended to Ryan in greeting.

"HI" Ryan replied accepting the handshake.

The doctor noticed the boy's cold hands and held on to his hand for a minute looking at the nail beds checking the coloring since he had noted the history of asthma. For now they appeared alright.

"Well tell me what seems to be the problem today."

Kristen knowing from experience that the doctor liked to hear things firsthand from the patient kept quiet. Ryan caught on after a minute when Kristen didn't say anything and started to speak up.

"It started this morning. At first I thought I was just tired, but then I started having chills and getting a headache. The headache made me sick to my stomach and I threw up twice. The nurse at school told me I had a high fever which is sort of normal for me when I get sick. Kristen came and got me and now I'm here."

"A man of few words and straight to the point. I like that. Well let me take a listen to your lungs and look in your ears, throat and nose and then we'll go from there."

The doctor went about his tasks quickly asking Ryan to breathe on occasion and open his mouth or tilt his head. He felt around the lymph nodes and tested reflexes. In a few minutes the exam was complete.

"Well I'm hearing some congestion and I see some inflammation in your throat and ears. Due to your history of sinus infections I am going to start you on an antibiotic. Not penicillin. Have you ever had biaxin?"

"I'm not sure. I didn't take much growing up."

"That's fine. Most people who are allergic to penicillin do fine on this though it can cause irritation to your stomach so you'll want to try and take it with food. If you have trouble we can switch to something else. Seth has had it before so Kristen knows what to watch for in terms of problems."

"Okay."

"You can take Motrin for the fever. If it goes over 104 after starting the fever and doesn't come down you may need to go in to the hospital though. I don't want to mess with high fevers for too long with a known heart condition."

"Motrin usually works." Ryan replied all the while praying that would hold true. He hated hospitals.

"Good. Well I'm going to have a nurse come in and draw some blood just in case, but mostly it looks like you probably have the flu bug that's going around. Normally I don't even put people on antibiotics for this, but with your history I want to be cautious. Any questions?"

Ryan shook his head no.

"No, thank you Dr. Peters." Kristen replied.

The nurse to draw blood was in quickly and after she finished Kristen and Ryan were given a prescription for his meds and allowed to leave. Together they made their way back to the car.

"Okay Ryan we'll drop this off at the pharmacy on the way home and then sandy can pick it up on the way back from work."

"Okay." Ryan replied once again drifting towards sleep.

He remained sleeping through the pharmacy stop and all the way home. When they pulled up to the drive Kristen shook him awake and helped him out.

"Ryan, I want you staying in the guest room today. I need to watch your fever."

"You don't have to do that. I'm sure I'll be fine. I don't want to trouble you."

"You're not any trouble Ryan. If it wasn't for the fact that you like the pool house I'd have you move in fulltime anyway. But truthfully this is to help me out tonight. It will be easier on me to check in on you and as a mother that is just what I plan to do."

"Okay." Ryan said a faint smile flickering to his lips when he realized she saw herself as his mom. This whole being sick thing was awful, but learning how Kristen felt about him might just make it all worth it.

The argument about rooming situations closed the two slowly made their way inside as mother and son.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3- SETH & REST

The rest of the afternoon went by fairly quietly for Ryan and Kristen. Ryan fell asleep almost immediately once Kristen got him settled in the guest room. She had given him Motrin before allowing him to sleep but otherwise had just been checking in throughout the afternoon. It was now about 4:00 and she was expecting Seth home soon. She had asked the school to give him a note explaining Ryan had gone home sick and he needed to catch a ride home from a friend. Sure enough the sound of the door opening met her ears a few minutes later.

"Mom?" Called out Seth.

"In the Study?"

The sound of sneaker son the tile marked his journey to her.

"How is Ryan?"

"Resting. The doctor thinks it's that flu bug making its rounds about town. Your dad is bringing home a prescription along with dinner from Jason's Deli."

"Cool. I'll be in my room if you need me. I won't bother him unless he asks."

"Sounds good."

As it turned out bothering him wasn't going to be a problem because right as Seth reached the top of the stairs he noticed Ryan leaning on the wall outside of the guest room.

"Yo bro what you doing? You look like if that wall didn't have your back you'd be a puddle on the floor."

"Bathroom." Ryan rasped clearly worn out.

"Got ya. Let me help." Seth replied immediately grabbing his brother and friends arm and leading him slowly across the hall.

"Thanks." Ryan said. "I got it from here."

"Okay but just to be safe I think I'll wait outside the door to help with the return trip. Holler or in your case croak if you need something."

"Funny" Ryan muttered as he kicked the door closed.

Meanwhile Kristen had made her way up the stairs. "Seth was that Ryan's voice I heard? I thought you were going to leave him alone?"

"Hey jumping the gun there a bit super mom. I saw him trying to get to the bathroom and was being a gentleman offering to help."

"I'm sorry Seth I should have known. I'm just worried for him. He's never been sick like this with us before."

"I know mom. He looks awful."

The sound of a flushing toilet and water in the tap interrupted any further discussion they were planning on and soon the door opened to reveal a disheveled looking Ryan.

"I can hear you through the door you know." He muttered before breaking into a brief coughing fit. Kristen grabbed his arm to steady him through the ordeal.

"Oh Ryan we know. We're just concerned. Let's get you back to bed. You sound worse than before. I can't wait for Sandy to get home so we can start you on your meds. In the meanwhile let me take your temperature and give you your next dose of Motrin."

"I can do it myself."

"I know you can but forgive me for wanting to be there- I know you. You have a tendency to downplay things and I don't want to be playing catch up to any of your symptoms."

"Whatever." Ryan mumbled as he climbed back into bed immediately pulling the covers to his chin in an attempt to get warm.

"Can I get another blanket its freezing?"

"I'm sorry sweetheart but the doctor said not to cover you up to much while your fever's high it will just make things worse."

"Fine." He said sadly.

Kristen stuck the ear thermometer into his ear and waited. After the beep she glanced at it and frowned.

"What is it?" Seth asked.

"It's up to 103. I was hoping it would go down."

"Don't worry I run high and the other pills have worn off. I'll be fine. I just need sleep."

"It's a mom's job to worry Ryan and normal or not 103 is not fine. Here are your pills. Try and get some rest. I'll wake you when Sandy gets home with dinner and meds."

"I'm not hungry."

"I know but remember the doctor said you need to take the antibiotic with food otherwise it will upset your stomach and I think you have had enough of that already today."

"Ewe" Seth said dramatically "too much details for me on that note I'm going to my room I don't want any of these germs."

Ryan gave a half- hearted wave as Seth left. He then looked over at Kristen to notice her plugging something in by his bed.

"What's that?" He croaked praying it wasn't what it looked like.

"A monitor. I want you to be able to call for me if you need anything."

"I'm not a baby." Ryan said showing his frustration.

"I know. But you're going to have to deal with it. I do this to Seth too. You guys will always be my babies."

Sensing that this was another fight he couldn't win Ryan decided to let it drop, but hell would freeze over before he ever planned on using that thing. He'd been taking care of himself for the majority of his 15 years of life and some flu bug wasn't about to make him totally dependent on others. At the same time it felt sort of nice to know she cared. With that parting though Ryan once more drifted into needed sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4- SANDY & DOCTOR CALLS

It was about 6pm when Sandy arrived home with Dinner and Ryan's meds.

"Any one home?" He called out as he walked in the front door.

"In the living room." Seth called out to his dad.

"So what is this party doing?" Sandy asked.

"Not much. I'm reading my comics and mom is looking at some work stuff. We're trying to keep it down so as not to disturb Ryan. Though I keep telling her not to worry even healthy Ryan can sleep through a hurricane. Since he's sick now I bet he can sleep even deeper." Seth added.

"You're probably right. Well I brought dinner so how about you two get the table ready and I'll go wake sick boy."

"Good luck you might want to take a mask with you or at least cover your face when entering contaminated zones." Seth teased back.

"Health recommendations duly noted?" Sandy said with a grin as he climbed the stairs.

Upon reaching the guest room he knocked lightly and waited a moment. Upon receiving no immediate answer he walked in. His eyes immediately fell on his foster son. The boy had the comforter pulled almost completely over himself and was curled into a tight ball. Only his face showed through and even at that only just enough that he wasn't suffocating himself with the blanket. The boy's face was pale except for two rosy cheeks signaling the high fever he still battled. He looked much younger than his 15 years. Sandy's heart tugged at the image filled with two warring emotions- pity for the illness the child was fighting and love so strong words couldn't describe it. He was so thankful to God that they had been able to take Ryan in. Sandy hadn't had an easy childhood but it was nothing compared to Ryan's and yet he felt so blessed to have a chance to give back and help this boy. He also felt blessed simply for the fact that he was able to have Ryan in his life. He sometimes felt the boy taught him more about life than he ever taught him. He reigned his thoughts back in after another minute and kneeled down by Ryan gently tugging the blankets away and speaking softly to the boy.

"Ryan, come on son. It's time for dinner. We need to get some food in you so we can't fill you up with some more meds and get you feeling better as soon as possible."

As he spoke he watched as Ryan's eyes slowly fluttered open and looked at him.

"Sandy?" He croaked clearly not quite alert.

"The one and only kiddo. What do you think- do you want dinner downstairs or up here?"

"Not hungry." Ryan whispered again.

"I know, but that's not an option you need your medications and that means you need to eat. Let me help you sit up a little and then I'll have Kristen bring you something up."

"Already did that." Kristen spoke up from behind him.

"Here you go Ryan. It's chicken noodle from Jason's Deli. It shouldn't be too hard on your throat or your stomach."

Weakly Ryan grasped for the spoon that had been set on the tray table by him. He spooned a couple sips slowly. The process was painful and he was so tired that the last thing he wanted was to eat.

"I know it's hard, but here's your antibiotic. Take this and then try and eat a little more than you can rest." Kristen continued urging.

Reluctantly Ryan did as she asked and took the pill. He managed another 10 bites or so after but that was all he can handle. Setting the spoon down he whispered "No more please."

"Alright son we won't push any more now, but we will be back to push fluids with a fever that high you need to keep hydrated. We don't want to end up in the hospital." Sandy gently reminded him.

"Okay" Ryan replied sleepily as his body sunk back into the pillows.

"We'll wake you in another hour or so to take your next dose of Motrin. Sleep well." Kristen added as her and Sandy slowly walked out the door.

Upon arriving at the kitchen table Seth inquired on Ryan. "How is he?"

"Pretty miserable, poor kid. The fever is definitely still burning at it hurts to eat. We got a little in him. I just hope it's enough." Sandy responded.

"Yeah me too. I need my bro back at school. It's not quite the same without him."

The next few minutes passed in companionable chatter as the Cohen's caught up on each other's day. When they finished eating trash was thrown out and left overs put away. Then they gathered back in the living room to watch some television.

"What's that?" Sandy remarked pointing to a monitor on the table.

"Come on dad. Can't you tell? This is mom the worrier we're talking about. She brought out the big guns. She's making up for the fact that she didn't get to have Ryan as a baby now by bring out the baby monitor."

"Oh hush Seth. I do it for you too when you're really sick. It's just that his fever is so high and we don't really know how he handles sickness. That and you know you can't rely on Ryan to admit how he is really feeling."

"I understand Kristen. You don't have to defend yourself. I like it. I guess it has just been so long since anyone in the house has been really sick that I forgot you did that." Sandy reassured his wife as he hugged her.

The next few minutes seemed to be going well in the Cohen household. Laughter filled the living room as the evening sitcoms played out on the screen in front of them and Ryan seemed to be sleeping peacefully or so they thought until the sound of something fairly large hitting the ground sounded from upstairs immediately followed by the sound of someone being sick over the monitor.

"So much for the antibiotic." Sandy remarked. "I guess we should give Doc Peter's a call and ask for suggestions on something to settle his stomach if we are going to keep at this."

"Probably, but maybe we should check his temperature first." Kristen remarked even as the two quickly made their way upstairs.

Upon reaching the guest room they found Ryan on his hands and knees retching violently. It looked like he had tried to get to the bathroom on his own but the combination of tangled bed sheets and overall weakness had hindered his efforts.

"I'm sorry" Ryan managed to choke out between spells of sickness tears rolling down his cheeks both from pain and embarrassment.

"Oh Ryan there is nothing to apologize for. Everyone gets sick you can't help that." Kristen immediately assured the sick teen.

"Let's get you cleaned up son." Sandy said when it seemed Ryan was done emptying his stomach. He pulled the boy gently to his feet and held him close for a second in a one armed hug assuring him they weren't mad. Then together they made their way to the bathroom. Kristen walked in and laid some new clothes down on the sink along with the thermometer and then stepped back out leaving Sandy to care for the sick boy.

Sandy helped Ryan to undress and started the bath water setting it to luke warm so as not to overheat him. Then he gently tilted Ryan's head and put the thermometer in his ear to get a reading. He shook his head sadly when the numbers came back 103.8.

"Wrong direction kiddo. I'm going to chill this water a little more we need to get this fever under control."

Ryan groaned in response not looking forward to colder water when he was already freezing even though he knew it was a smart move. Right about when Sandy was going to move the teen from his seated position on the toilet to the tub, Ryan suddenly grew paler, something Sandy had thought impossible, and clutched his stomach. Knowing what was coming Sandy quickly helped the teen reposition himself so he was leaning over the toilet. Another bout of sickness took over the trembling teen leaving him once more in tears by the end.

"Oh Ryan. I'm so sorry you feel this awful. Kristen's calling the doctor now to see what else we can do. Hang in there kid we'll get you through this."

Soon Sandy had Ryan in the bath cooling down. He stayed beside him helping to hold him up as he shivered in the water. After ten minutes Sandy decided he'd had enough and drew the teen out of the water and helped him get dressed. Next he led him back to bed and tucked him in. Kristen walked in to the room right as sandy finished tucking him in. The phone was at her ear.

"Doctor Peters wants to know what his temperature is now that he's had a cool bath."

In response Sandy grabbed the thermometer and placed it in Ryan's ear. When it beeped it read 103.3.

"Well it's down half a degree. It was 103.8 earlier." Sandy replied and Kristen relayed this to the doctor.

After a few minutes of Kristen saying things back and forth on the phone she hung up.

"He's going to call in two prescriptions. One is a stronger pain relieve to fight the fever- no codeine. The other is something to give Ryan to settle his stomach so he can take the antibiotics. That one comes in two forms oral and suppository he wrote a script for both."

"No way." Ryan muttered pitifully.

"Ryan if that's what it takes that's what we'll do but don't worry we'll try the oral version first." Kristen assured.

"The doctor said if his fever doesn't come down after this next medication or it jumps dangerously high to take him to Children's Hospital. He hopes we won't need that. He said he'd stop by the house in the morning if there are no complications and check up on him then."

"You get house visits?" Ryan croaked. He though that only happened in the movies.

"Well he's a friend of Sandy's. Believe it or not they used to be on a bowling league together."

"Hey don't knock my skills I was team captain and the Doc wasn't half bad either."

"I'd roll my eyes but it hurts too much." Ryan mumbled.

"Then don't hurt yourself kid. Get some rest I'm off to get you the better meds."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it. That's what you do when you love someone."

With those comforting words ringing in his head Ryan drifted back into a restless slumber.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5- MAKING IT THROUGH THE NIGHT

By the time Sandy got home with the new meds it was clear that Kirsten was worried. She had remained in Ryan's room, something the teen was unaware of since he had fallen back asleep. The boy had been tossing and turning restlessly and was still shivering an indication of a rising temperature. Coughing spurts were certainly not helping him gain his rest either.

"I'm back." Sandy whispered as he returned to the room trying not to wake the sick boy.

"Thank goodness Sandy. I'm so worried about him. Seth never had this much trouble with flu bugs." Kristen replied the wringing of her hands indicating just how worried she was.

"He'll be okay. He's a tough kid. Just look how far he has already come."

"You're right. Let me wake him so we can try the new medications." She walked over to the sleeping teen and gently began shaking his shoulder. Soon fever glazed blue eyes were locked onto her.

"Let me help you sit up sweetheart. We've got the new meds. Let's get that temp down. Looks like you have prescription strength Motrin for the fever and also Zofran for the nausea."

Together Sandy and Kirsten helped Ryan sit up. They gave him the anti-nausea med first and then let him rest for ten minutes before administering the fever reliever. When after an hour the meds had stayed down and Ryan seemed to be resting more comfortably Kirsten gently stuck the ear thermometer in to get a reading. She was relieved to see it come up as 103.1 still high but at least moving in the right direction.

"I think I'll stay in here tonight just in case." Kirsten said grabbing a quilt from the closet and a pillow and settling down in the recliner.

"Alright just yell if you need something the other monitor is still in our room."

The next hours passed uneventfully aside from Kirsten waking Ryan once more around 4am for another dose of medication. His fever remained high but had gotten no worse.

Around 6:45 Seth peered in worried about his brother as he got ready for school. He immediately noticed his mom asleep in the recliner and figured Ryan must have had a rough night. Right about the time he started to backpedal quietly out of the room Ryan's eyes opened and caught his.

"Bathroom?" He croaked looking embarrassed at the fact that he needed help.

"No problem." Seth immediately replied and soon the dark haired teen was helping his blonde counterpart much like the day before. When Ryan had finished relieving himself, Seth helped tuck him back in. Kirsten smiled at seeing her son helping Ryan.

"How are you feeling today?" Kirsten asked the sick teen.

"Not so great." The boy managed before erupting in a coughing fit that sounded worse than the night before. A slight wheeze seemed to accompany his breathing afterwards though it abated after a few minutes.

"I can imagine. You had a rough night, but at least the meds seem to be working so far. Dr. Peters will be in around 7:30am to look you over again so why don't you try and rest more till then. I can't give you any more meds till 8."

"Alright."

With that being said Kirsten and Seth slipped downstairs. Sandy had prepared bagels for everyone and was quietly reading the paper.

"Looks like rain again today; so Seth, grab your bagel and I'll drop you off at school. Can you get a ride home?"

"Yeah it's not a problem. Summer said she'd drop me by. She might want to check in on Ryan herself anyways. I'm not sure she'll trust my updates."

"We'll see how he's feeling. He may not be up for visitors. Keep your phone with you today. I'll text you if anything changes here."

"Sounds good. You guys don't have work?"

"I don't. I called off. I'm not sure about your mom."

"I'm going to stay home too. I called dad last night and let him know that would be the case. He grumbled about it, but he knows better than to get between me and my kids."

"Not that he really sees Ryan as your kid." Seth added.

"Doesn't matter I see Ryan as my kid."

"Yeah I know. I'm glad mom. It really is great having a brother. Not to say you guys aren't great, but you know it's nice to have another kid who just gets you."

"We know. Alright boys get out of here before Seth is late to school."

"Yes mam- both chorused together with mock salutes." Kirsten rolled her eyes as she watched them walk away. She really was grateful to have such a wonderful family. With that thought in mind she settled back with her coffee to wait for the doctor.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thanks for everyone's reviews. One of you pointed out I have been spelling Kirsten's name wrong and I corrected it here. Thanks- spelling isn't my best skill. I hope you enjoy.**_

CHAPTER 6- THE DOCTOR'S IN

Dr. Peters arrived right when he said he would. Kirsten was quick to let him in.

"Thank you so much for stopping by. We're just so worried about him."

"Not a problem. Let's go take a look at the young man in question."

"Of course. He's upstairs in the guest room."

Upon reaching Ryan's room Kirsten softly opened the door hoping not to startle the boy. He seemed to be asleep though he still moved about restlessly as a result of his still high temperature.

"Ryan, can you wake up for me?" Dr. Peters gently asked with a light tap to his shoulder.

Ryan's eyes drifted open slowly. For a moment he seemed startled when the unfamiliar face was before him but after a moment his brain seemed to catch up and put a name to the face.

"You really do make home visits." Ryan croaked out. "I sort of thought they were having me on."

"I only make home visits for the most interesting patients. Anyone a part of the Cohen clan certainly fits that bill."

"He knows us so well." Kirsten said with a mischievous edge to her voice.

"Well let's take a look today and see where we stand. Can you tell me how you're feeling right now?"

"Umm tired." Ryan mumbled sleepily.

"Well yes I figured that much out my boy but a little more detail might be required."

Ryan lowered his eyes in embarrassment at the slight admonishment.

"It's alright Ryan just speak the truth you're not in trouble for being ill." Kirsten added sensing Ryan's hesitancy and misplaced guilt over the whole situation.

"That's right son- this is my job. Individuals like you keep me in the lifestyle I've come accustom to." The doctor said trying to use a bit of humor to relax the edgy teen.

It seemed to work if the lowering of Ryan's shoulders and relaxing of his posture indicated anything.

"Well my head is killing me. I thought it hurt bad yesterday but it's worse today. My chest feels sort of tight and well obviously my throat hurts as you can tell from my voice."

The room Ryan was in was fairly dim and they hadn't turned any lights on upon entering relying on the soft glow from the sun in the window to do their work. Wanting to check something Doctor Peter's leaned over and turned on Ryan's bedside lamp. The action had an immediate response from Ryan as he winced and looked away a slight gasp coming from his lips.

"Ryan did that light hurt your eyes?" Dr. Peters questioned.

"Yes." The teen ground out between clinched teeth.

"Alright I'll dim it in a minute but I want you to do something else for me. Can you touch your chin to your neck?"

Giving the Dr. a funny look out of the side of his eyes Ryan started to comply only to stop have way through with a cry of pain.

"Okay Ryan you can stop- thank you. Kirsten, go ahead and dim the lights. Is Seth at school already?"

"Sandy's dropping him off now they probably are almost there, why?"

"Call him for me and see please. " The doctor stated avoiding answering the question.

Confused Kirsten did as asked. Soon she had Sandy on the line telling her Seth was just about to get out at school. When Kirsten relayed this to Dr. Peter's he told her not to let him go to school and instead have them head over to Children's Hospital. Even more confused and now slightly frightened Kirsten relayed the message and then put Sandy on speaker phone when his immediate reaction was an alarmed why.

"What's wrong Dr. Peters?" Kirsten demanded now that Sandy was listening in on speaker.

"Everyone stay come for a moment and I'll explain. Ryan is showing some signs of a serious illness that may be contagious and rather than allow Seth to go to school and possibly infect others I want to have you'll meet us at the hospital where we will run some tests and determine the next step."

"Okay I guess I understand that, but I'm not going to let you stop with some contagious disease mumbo jumbo I want you to tell me what you think it is."

"Meningitis." Ryan whispered frightfully,

"What did you say Ryan?" Kirsten asked hearing the teen mumble something.

"You think it's meningitis don't you?" Ryan asked the Doctor.

"Yes. I think there is a good chance you are definitely exhibiting many of the symptoms considering it started with cold symptoms and then developed into a high fever, severe headache, light sensitivity and problems touching your chin to tour neck. It could be something else, but I don't want to take any chances. How did you come to your conclusion?"

"I remember a time in Chino when a kid in my class got really sick and ended up dying. They told us later it was meningitis and everyone had to take this pill as a precaution and we were warned about the symptoms. It was so long ago I almost forgot." Ryan managed to tell with ragged breathes and clinched features indicating the level of pain he was still in.

"How are we taking Ryan to the hospital?" Kirsten added.

"Normally I would recommend an ambulance but considering the benefit of not infecting anyone else this once I am going to tell you to drive him you self. I will call ahead to the hospital to let them know to expect you and will follow behind you."

"Okay we'll meet you there." Sandy responded before he hung up.

The next few moments moved fast as Dr. Peters and Kirsten helped Ryan to get up and in the car and soon the Cohen's were off to the hospital praying all the while that things weren't as serious as the doctor expected.


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry for the delay in posting I had jury duty last week and got put on a trial. Updates may be slow for a while as work is about to get crazy but I will try and post as often as possible. Thanks for reading and reviewing. **

CHAPTER 7- ER & TESTS

By the time Kirsten, Ryan and Dr. Peters pulled up to the ER there was a medical team waiting for them. One of the orderly's with a wheel chair met them at the car.

"Ryan Atwood?" He questioned at the window.

"Yes." Kirsten replied for them.

Hearing the affirmative response the orderly opened the passenger door and went to grab Ryan's arm and assist him into the car. At the touch from the orderly Ryan flinched away violently confused by the sudden contact and momentarily unaware of his circumstances. By that time Kirsten had made it around to the passenger side as well.

"Let me do it." She said firmly pushing the orderly away despite his glare at the interruption, but no one messes with the Kirsten in mother hen mode.

"It's okay Ryan. It's just me- Kirsten. We're at the hospital. Remember Doctor Peter's sent us here." Kirsten whispered gently to the disoriented boy.

For a moment Ryan said nothing but then a spark of understanding lit his features and he stopped backing away.

"That's good Ryan now let me help you into the wheel chair." Kirsten continued and this time the boy gave no resistance and rather leaned heavily upon her. Soon Kirsten had him settled and allowed the orderly to push him into the ER.

"If that is the possible meningitis case than he's over here- isolation room 3." A man in blue scrubs ordered.

The orderly soon had Ryan in room 3 and once more with Kirsten's help Ryan was quickly transferred to the exam bed. Moments after his arrival Seth and Cohen were also in the room along with Dr. Peter's.

The man in scrubs from earlier spoke up next. "Is this everyone who has had contact with Ryan today?"

"Yes. He did go to school yesterday though." Kirsten spoke up.

"What school?" The man asked a hint of concern in his voice.

"Harbor."

"Alright we'll run some tests and go from there. If they come back positive we will notify the school of needed precautions though I'll have our community rep give them a heads up now also."

Dr. Peter's nodded from the corner and Kirsten assumed from this that he agreed with the ER doc's protocol.

"What kind of tests?" Sandy spoke up.

"For Ryan, blood work and a spinal tap. We will also get some blood from the rest of you as a precaution also. Anyone else having any cold symptoms?" The doctor asked.

Negative head shakes were soon seen from everyone.

"Good. Okay then I am going to send you folks next door for blood draws and we will get started on Ryan here. There's some paperwork you need to fill out first too. Permission to treat forms and the like."

Nodding his head Sandy quickly took the paperwork from a nearby nurse and signed the initial forms knowing there would be more to fill out soon and this was just enough to get things started. Soon the Cohen's were ushered into another room and Ryan was left with the doctor and a few nurses.

"Alright Ryan, we are going to do blood draw first. Any arm preferences."

"Left." The sick boy whispered indicating his non dominant hand. "Can you dim the lights?" He pleaded as his head throbbed.

"Sorry kid. I know they hurt but we need them to see. We'll try to be quick so hopefully we can get some meds in you soon and get you feeling better."

The nurse made quick work of drawing blood and establishing an I.V.

"Alright kid, this next part isn't too fun but it's necessary. Have you ever had a spinal tap?"

"No." Ryan replied his body tensing in fear at the mention of the test. He might not have ever had one but he certainly knew what it was and he wasn't looking forward to any long needles being jammed in his back.

"Alright well this is how it works. We are going to lay you on your right side with your knees bent. We are then going to give you a shot in your lower spine to numb the area some. We will wait a few minutes to let it start working. Then I will take the other needle and insert it into your spine to get some spinal fluid and check it for infection. You shouldn't fill a whole lot of pain but you will feel pressure. It will also most likely increase your headache and you will have to lie really still afterwards. I notice you are allergic to codeine so we will keep that in mind when it comes to pain later."

"Great." Ryan mumbled the doctor's words doing nothing to ease his fear. A few tears leaked out the corner of his eye and he wished he could hide the evidence of his fear, but the truth was he was in a significant amount of pain and had just been told it would probably get worse. Secretly he wished for unconsciousness so he could have a brief escape.

The doctor wasted no time starting the procedure and soon the pressure of the spinal tap was being felt by Ryan. _ Pressure yeah right. Feels like pain to me._ Ryan thought to himself as tears came with abandon.

The procedure took only a few minutes total, but the experience was one Ryan would not soon forget and hoped to never have to repeat. Soon he was lying on his back his eyes tightly closed.

"Alright Ryan I'll be back in a minute I am going to see if your blood work is back. Nurse Cathy here will be back with something for you to drink- do you want tea, coffee or soda. The caffeine sometimes helps with your headache."

"Tea." The hurting teen whispered feeling it was the only option that would not irate his already sore throat.

"On it." The nurse replied with a sympathetic smile to the sick boy.

It wasn't the nurse; however, who returned with the tea but Kirsten.

"Here is the tea Ryan. Let me help you with it." She said entering the room softly. When she had finished helping him take a few sips she gently began stroking his arm to let him know she was there.

"Rest your eyes and rest. I'll let you know if you need to wake up." She gently urged knowing only sleep could truly ease his pain at this point.

A few minutes later a nurse appeared.

"Alright Ryan. I am here to start you on some meds. This is vancomycin have you ever had it? "

"No."

"That's fine. I know you are allergic to penicillin so don't worry this is a different family of drugs. We will run it four times a day an hour each time to start. Once I get you hooked up we are moving you upstairs so your family can actually head up to floor four now. In about 30 minutes you can ring the intercom at ICU and let them know you are Ryan's family and they will let you sit with him."

"Alright." Sandy said and then leaned to give Ryan's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We'll see you soon kiddo."

"Yeah don't pull any funny business." Seth joined in.

"Try and rest we'll be with you soon." Kirsten also affirmed as she gently kissed his head.

Ryan waved his hand in a tired wave to indicate his understanding and watched the Cohen's leave through hooded eyelids. He couldn't believe how fast things had come apart and now he prayed that the medicine would kick in quickly and the nightmare would end.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8- ICU

The nurse was pretty accurate concerning the time it took to transfer Ryan to the ICU. Unfortunately for Ryan those thirty minutes felt like some of the longest in his life. Every movement, sound, and light was painful in an almost unbearable way. Ryan had suffered from migraines in the past but the level of pain he was experiencing now put those to shame.

Ryan no longer felt embarrassed by the tears that tracked his face he just wished for the pain to end.

"I know you're hurting." A gentle voice let him know as he was transferred to the new bed in the ICU.

"You received some pain medication downstairs, but we are about to give you something called Dilaudid now through your I.V. that should work quickly. It is a pretty heavy narcotic and since you'll be being monitored closely here we can give it to you a little more frequently and at higher doses to help get a handle on some of your pain.

"Thank God." Ryan mumbled back not sure who it was that was talking to him but grateful for the promise of some form of pain relief.

"Alright it's in. Give it about ten minutes and you should start to feel some relief. I believe your family is here, but I am going to wait to let them back until this kicks in a little. I'll dim the lights some for you. You have a call button by your right hand if you need anything and I am your nurse for the evening. My name is Jerry. I'll be write outside the glass door checking on you frequently though I won't disturb you unless absolutely necessary. We have you on quite a few monitors to keep track of things including a heart monitor, blood pressure cuff that will go off every thirty minutes, and oxygen monitor. For now your O2 stats look good so we will leave you on room air. Let me get a temperature real quick to see where we are. "

AS the nurse said this he had a thermometer in Ryan's ear. It beeped quickly eliciting a wince from Ryan.

"103- a little toasty I see. We'll put a light cooling blanket on you for a while. It won't be the most comfortable but we don't need a high fever complicating things any more than they already are."

The nurse wasn't lying about the cooling blanket being uncomfortable. His headache had just started to abate a little with the help of the meds, but now he couldn't rest because he felt like he was freezing to death.

"I'm going to let your family back here for a few minutes to help distract you from the cold."

True to his word Sandy, Seth and Kirsten were soon gathered around his bed.

"Hey kid." Sandy whispered gently stroking Ryan's arm.

Kirsten merely stood on the opposite side and laid her hand on his other hand choosing a silent show of comfort.

"I see their trying to turn you into the only snowman in California." Seth quipped quietly at noticing Ryan's shaking form under the cooling blanket.

"Not funny." Ryan hissed back.

"Sorry son, but I'd rather have a snow man then a son with a fried brain. Try not to fight it. In a minute it won't be as bad as your body adjusts to it." Sandy assured.

Ryan doubted his logic, but finding nothing else he tried to key in on the sound of Sandy's voice as he continued to mutter gentle assurances. Eventually it worked and Ryan was able to slip into a light dose. For the next few minutes time passed in an unidentifiable flow for the Cohen's. Eventually nurse Jerry stepped back in.

"Alright folks. I let you stay all together for a while since Ryan just got up here. But now we need to go down to one visitor at a time. "

"I'll take first watch." Sandy replied.

"Okay." Kirsten responded. "Seth and I will go home for a while and try to rest. Call if there is any change. I'll be back tonight with Seth for another visit and then you and I can switch places."

"Sounds good."

With that settled Kirsten and Seth reluctantly left Ryan's room.

Sandy had been sitting by Ryan's bed for a while. The cooling blanket had been removed when another temperature check had revealed a temperature drop to 102. Thankfully Ryan had not awakened during the check allowing his body to get some much needed rest.

A doctor suddenly stepped into the room.

"Mr. Cohen. I am Dr. Samuels. I am from Infectious Disease and will be following Ryan while he's in the ICU. We did get his cultures back and I am sorry to say it does appear to be bacterial meningitis. We have caught it early though and are treating it aggressively. Ryan is young and relatively healthy which should all work in his favor, but I am afraid it will be a lot of wait and see. Thankfully the rest of your family's cultures have come back negative. We'll keep you on antibiotics as a precaution and you'll have to continue to have to use isolation precautions like you are now when you visit Ryan, but I don't foresee complications with you'll. So far Ryan is holding his own. It is good that his temperature came down some. For now we just wait and see. Any questions?"

"Not at the moment Doctor. Thank you for the update."

"Of course. I'll check in on you again this evening, and I can be reached sooner through the nurses if need be. Let us know if you need anything or you feel Ryan does."

Sandy nodded gratefully and then watched the doctor step back out. There was nothing more he could do for the moment so he simply sat by Ryan's side, stroked his hand and sent up a prayer that soon this would all be just a bad memory.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9- COMPLICATIONS

Sandy had been sitting by Ryan's side for a few hours when he something changed. At first he thought Ryan was getting a little restless and moving around more in sleep in an attempt to get comfortable, but then a shrill alarm sounded causing Sandy to jump from his seat and the nursing personnel to run into the room. What Sandy had thought was just movement was in fact the start of a seizure. It was terrifying watching his son thrash about and being unable to help him.

"Get the Dilantin in him now." A commanding voice spoke above the rest calling for the anti-seizure med. "I also want a temperature and get Neuro in here for a consult we need to double check the cranial pressure. Better get a CT on standby as well." The doctor continued.

Sandy wasn't sure what all that met, but he feared it wasn't good. All he could do for the moment was standby and watch and pray fervently that he would not lose his newest son.

"Temp is back up to 104." A nurse spoke up.

"Geez kid. That's the wrong direction." The doctor muttered even as Ryan's seizure came to a stop.

"Time?" The doc called out wanting a time on the length of the seizure.

"Minute thirty." Another nurse shot back.

The doctor nodded but gave no further comment to clue Sandy in of it that was good or bad.

"I think he's coming around again." The nurse added once more.

"Good. " The doctor replied as he stepped into Ryan's line of site and laid a hand on the sick boys shoulder. "Ryan try and relax. My name is Doctor Spark. You had a seizure but you are going to be okay. Do you hear me?" The doctor had to repeat himself once more but after the second time Ryan managed to mumble out a faint yes.

"Alright kid that's good. Let's try and cut back on the excitement a little though okay. I am gonna run you through a few tests to make sure everything's okay, but hopefully that little patch of excitement was just a result of your temp spiking again. Fraid you have to go back on the cooling blanket though."

"Not like snowman…" Ryan managed to mutter.

"What?" The doc asked confused by the reference.

"He's delirious." One of the nurses commented.

"No he's not." Sandy replied. "He's quoting his brother who called him a snowman earlier when he had the blanket on."

"Oh, good to know." The doctor said nodding at his new found understanding of the reference. "In that case I am afraid you have to just deal with being a snowman. It is definitely better than being an earthquake- you know how we California's hate that."

"Lame man." Ryan managed to mutter in response.

"Yeah well humor wasn't one of my required courses in med school. Stop pulling funny things one tonight and I'll spare you more jokes. Deal?"

"Deal." Ryan muttered as he once more allowed his eyes to drift.

"Good. Don't get to comfortable kiddo I think I see CT techs here to take you downstairs. Will get this test and then you can sleep till the cows come home."

"You promised no jokes." Ryan managed to groan once more. His words still slightly slurred as a left over from the recent seizure.

"That ain't a joke kid. That's a country proverb- huge difference."

"Whatever."

"Whatever yourself. Guys take him out of here and get him cleared than bring him back for some quiet uneventful rest."

"Lord please." Sandy muttered at that.

The techs took the docs word and soon Sandy felt himself watching Ryan being rolled once more out of his line of sight. He had never felt more out of control then this moment and he prayed he would not soon have to feel this way again.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10-The Art of Breathing

Ryan's CT scan ended up revealing nothing new. The swelling in his brain had not increased to a more dangerous level than previously and for now Neuro was just choosing to monitor. It seemed the doctor's prediction that the fever had caused the seizure was true.

While Sandy was relieved to hear nothing more was going on with Ryan, his heart still ached to see the boy so weak. Ryan had drifted back to sleep almost immediately upon his return from CT, and now Sandy filled the moments watching the steady rise and fall of his son's chest. As the minutes passed he took note of the fact that the boy's breathing seemed to be a bit more labored than earlier. A fact that was confirmed a few moments later as a nurse stepped into the room.

"Hello again, Mr. Cohen, I'm Jerry, Ryan's lead nurse, we talked a bit earlier. I'm going to start Ryan on a nasal cannula to help his oxygen levels a bit. They aren't too bad, but there is no reason for him to struggle unnecessarily. His body needs to rest so if we can help with a little supplemental oxygen we might as well." The nurse explained as he quickly and with minimal disturbance to Ryan turned on a valve behind his bed and fitted the nasal cannula onto Ryan's face through his nostrils.

Sandy merrily nodded as he watched the procedure. Jerry left again quietly after taken a few glances at the monitors surrounding Ryan.

It was another hour before someone came into the room. This time it was a friendly face that Sandy was grateful for.

"Sandyford." The gentlemanly figure of Dr. Peter's voiced in a compassionate greeting.

"Hey Doc."

"How is our young man doing? Causing any more excitement?"

"Not really. Just the seizure earlier. His breathing is a little rugged but the nurse didn't seem too worried."

"Hmmm I noticed that, but your right for now it doesn't seem too bad. I am glad the lad is resting though. I know it has been a frightful ordeal for him."

"Tell me about it. I'd much rather being giving lectures on fist fights and partying."

"Amazing how things like this put everything in perspective."

"Yeah."

"Well I was around doing my rounds and just thought I'd stop in and see if you needed anything- clarification on what's happening or something more practical like lunch."

Sandy chuckled at that. Dr. Peter's sure was a rare breed this day in age, but he certainly meant what he said and he always went the extra mile for his patients. Kirsten mentioned he was a church member of her mom's old parish and that she always called him a shining star for the faith.

"Any chance you could just sit with Ryan a minute while I visit the facilities and get a drink? I don't want him waking up alone."

"Sounds good to me these old bones can always use a break."

With that said Sandy smiled gratefully and that kind doctor and switched places with him.

Dr. Peter's hummed softly to himself while he sat beside Ryan's bed. It had been about five minutes since Sandy left, when Ryan's eyes began to flutter open. Ryan looked about wildly once awake clearly startled at the thought of being alone in a hospital.

"Easy young man you're okay. Sandy just stepped out for a brief respite and should return in quick notice. He graciously offered me his chair for a rest while he went. You've been rather good company for me these last minutes- no complaining like so many folks these days."

A brief snort escaped Ryan's lips at the doctor's attempt at humor.

"Was that you humming. It sounded familiar."

"Well that all depends was it a pleasant sound?"

"Yeah brings back memories of this kind neighbor I once had." Ryan responded pausing every few words in his delivery to catch his breath which was more labored than earlier.

"Ah well in that case it was indeed me. It's an old Spiritual called 'All is Well with my Soul'."

"Pretty." Ryan huffed out.

"Quite. You, young man, seem to be struggling a bit. Are you in pain?"

"Chest's tight."

"Well we don't want that let me just ring your nurse and get you some official assistance- I'm off duty at the moment." Dr. Peters added following up his words by hitting the call button.

Jerry was in the room in less than a minute.

"Having some trouble breathing aren't you champ? M I had just noticed a drop in your stats when your doc here paged us. Let's sit you up a bit higher. I'm afraid it may aggravate your headache a bit not to be so flat, but lungs have priority I'm afraid."

"Whatever helps." Ryan gasped out a bit of an urgent tone underlining his statement.

Jerry soon had Ryan at a slight angle and had replaced his nasal cannula with a non-rebreather oxygen mask on high flow.

"How's that?"

"Better." Ryan replied.

"Good. I'll give respiratory a call and see if they can come do a treatment to help some also. Your other doc had left orders for that in case of such a complication especially considering your childhood history of asthma. I may tamper your pain medications a little too because sometimes those can have adverse respiratory reactions. We want to keep the pain manageable too though so let me know if it gets too bad sooner rather than later."

Ryan gave a thumbs up to indicate his understanding and at that moment Sandy walked back in.

"What's wrong ?" He stated his fear obvious to all in the room.

"Settle Down sandy." Dr. Peters quickly interjected. "It is nothing we didn't predict. Ryan just needs a bit more oxygen and some medications to loosen his airways. His history let us know this was likely. We can get past this."

"Okay." Sandy said even as he moved to stroke Ryan's hand. Ryan in turn squeezed his hand back letting him know not to worry too much.

"It's my job to worry kid. You're important to us." Sandy replied in a whisper to Ryan's silent statement.

It was to this scene Kirsten would later walk in. It was a scene of love and trust between a father and son signified by clinging hands.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11- Breathing Treatments

About the same time Kirsten walked into the hospital room so did the respiratory therapist.

"Hello Ryan, my name is Jenny and I am from respiratory. We are going to get you set with a breathing treatment to help ease things up a bit for you. Does that sound good?"

"Please." Ryan whispered back the labor in his breathing evident with the minimal use of words.

"Ok well let me take a listen real quick to your lungs before we get started. Just breathe normally for now."

Ryan patiently underwent the short exam. Breathing as normally as possible and attempting a few deep breaths when prompted. He was relieved when Jenny told him to rest back against his pillows again.

"Alright now have you had breathing treatments before?"

"Yeah… when I was little…not since I was 7." Ryan managed to puff out between wheezes.

"Alright well just to remind you I am going to switch out your mask here with this one that has a compartment for meds. We are using albuterol at the moment. Then I'll give you the mask back and it will run for about 10 minutes then we will switch you back to full oxygen."

"K" Ryan whispered.

As the respiratory therapist set about doing her job Dr. Peter's spoke up.

"My friends it seems you are in wonderful hands right now. I am going to take my leave though I will be checking in regularly. And young sir I expect to her that you are making strides in recovery quite soon- no detours please."

Ryan gave shaky thumbs up in agreement and Kirsten and Sandy smiled and thanked the kind physician as he took his leave.

Soon the only noise in the room was the sound of the meds being administered to Ryan and His rugged breathing as he tried to take them all in. Kirsten had moved to gently stroking the ill boys' forehead in hopes of helping relieve some of his lingering pain. She could still feel the heat readily on his brow though it didn't seem quite as bad as earlier. The respiratory therapist stepped out once she had seen Ryan doing okay on the meds for a few minutes with a promise to return when they were done.

Sandy watched on for a minute before speaking up.

"How was Seth this morning?"

"Alright…worried about Ryan. Had to fight him about going to school, but I reminded him he would not be able to spend much time in here with Ryan anyway since we are limited to two visitors at a time. Plus I told him he needed to report in to the worried friends about Ryan's condition or risk facing one of summer's rage black outs. That threat seemed to work."

"I bet it did, I wonder how long before those two actually try dating."

"Who knows?"

Ryan suddenly pulled at his mask a little so he could speak. "There's a bet going- current odds have it at 3 months."

"Put that mask back on Ryan." Kirsten gently scolded.

"3 months huh… maybe I should get in on that action." Sandy said with a grin.

"Sandy!" Kirsten objected lightly slapping him on the arm.

"What? You know you want in on it." He merely grinned back.

Soon the breathing treatment was done and Jenny was back.

"How you feeling now Ryan?" She asked as she removed the medicated mask and replaced the oxygen.

"Bit better- still tight though."

"Alright-well we will keep an eye on things your O2 stats are at 91 let's try and keep them there or raise them a bit if we can."

"I'll try." Ryan replied with a shrug.

"I know kid, just try and rest now. Your doctor will probably be in to see you in a bit and he'll make more decisions from there."

As she left the room, Ryan allowed his eyes to drift shut once more trusting that the Cohen's had his back.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12- Slow & Steady Progress

It was around 10:30 by the time Dr. Samuels made it to ICU to check on Ryan.

"Well good morning Ryan. I see you partially listened to my instructions from last night and that you had no more funny business trying to be an earthquake, however, it seems you didn't avoid all complications with your breathing."

"Sorry…" Ryan mumbled out.

"No worries. Things happen and sometimes in life we paddle upstream against the current."

"You have weird proverbs." Ryan muttered again recalling the docs lame jokes and proverbs from the night before.

"Blame it on my dad he was the one who instilled them in me."

"Sounds like a good man to me." Sandy interjected.

"it would." Ryan groaned out wishing he could roll his eyes without pain.

"Well enough of the chit chat let me update you'll. We will draw some more blood in a minute to check on the infection, but so far so good. Ryan's last temperature readings showed a decrease which is good and implies the antibiotics are doing their job. His cranial pressure is ok according to last night's CT though we will rerun that later today as well. We will obviously keep monitoring his breathing, but for now his numbers are holding pretty steady so we will just continue with the breathing treatments in four hour cycles though if need be and you start feeling worse let your nurse know and we can do them every two hours instead. Otherwise it is mostly a waiting game. Rest as much as possible. We will stay on top of your pain meds to help with that too, but really rest is the best medicine."

"Thought that was laughter?" Sandy remarked.

"No, but it is a close second though Ryan might appreciate a brief respite from too much of it at the moment since I imagine it might irritate his head some."

"Duly noted."

"Alright folks well that is it from me for now. Any questions?"

The Cohen's and Ryan had none so Dr. Samuels took his leave.

"Alright well Ryan I think I am gonna leave you to Kirsten for a bit I need to check in with the office and then pick your brother up from school because you know he will want to see you. Rest up!"

"K- thanks for staying with me."

"Of course kid wouldn't be anywhere else." Before leaving Sandy leaned down and kissed Ryan on the forehead causing the boy to blush both in embarrassment but also in secret joy.

After Sandy left it didn't take long for Ryan to drift off to sleep. Kirsten pulled out a book and continued the silent vigil by his side.

Around 11:30 the nurse came to draw blood and after words Ryan pushed himself up a bit not quite ready to go back to sleep.

"What you reading?" He asked Kirsten.

"Oh this- it's a devotional book a friend gave me called Jesus Callings. It is pretty cool. The author basically writes short passages and you are supposed to imagine it is Jesus talking directly to you as you read them."

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah I like them. Today's says _"I am with you, watching over you constantly. My presence enfolds you in radiant love…" _As Kirsten continued reading the devotion Ryan's eyes slowly drifted shut once more his mind filling with images of the kind of love described in her book. He had never known that all-encompassing love before. As a kid he wasn't sure what he felt about God considering all the grief and pain he had faced, but her in the room with Kirsten he thought maybe such a perfect and unconditional love was real after all the Cohen' sure seemed to demonstrate it well to him. With that thought Ryan once again entered into a healing sleep.

_**Devotional reading isn't mine it is taken from the book **__**Jesus Calling: Seeking Peace In His Presence **__**by Sarah Young**_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13-What's Ringing

Ryan slept for another few hours after falling asleep listening to Kirsten reading. The next time he woke was at the arrival of the Respiratory Therapist.

"Hello Ryan, time for your treatment again." Jenny from Respiratory said.

Ryan waved his hand weakly to acknowledge her, though he didn't move much more and quickly closed his eyes again after the acknowledgement.

"I'm gonna adjust your bed so you're at a slight angle for the treatment. I apologize in advance since I know it is pretty uncomfortable to sit up too much with your headache."

"What? I couldn't hear everything you just said can you repeat that." Ryan whispered between labored breaths his eyes opening once more and trying to focus on the therapist.

"Sure- I was just saying I need to angle your bed a bit more to get your breathing treatments going and I'm sorry but it might aggravate your headache some."

"Moving my bed some. Got it?" Ryan said once more before closing his eyes again.

Kirsten watched the exchange quietly from her seat beside Ryan. Soon the therapist moved to adjust the angle as she had said. The minute the bed started to move, Ryan's eyes shot open and a low groan of pain came from the teen.

"Sorry kid I tried to warn you."

Ryan said nothing but his increase breathing rate signified he was simply occupied with trying to get the pain under a bit more control.

Another nurse walked in about that time.

"Ryan, I noticed your rates change and I'm guessing it's from pain. I am going to give you some more meds right now which will hopefully help."

Ryan whose eyes were tightly closed trying to ward off the pain didn't acknowledge the new nurses presence or comments.

When the nurse approached him and reached out to touch his IV Ryan flinched violently his eyes landing on the nurse in confusion.

"Sorry kid I'm just giving you the pain meds like I said."

"Oh." Ryan muttered. "Didn't hear you."

"That's the second time you haven't heard something, Ryan. I something wrong?" Kirsten interjected surprised by the normally sharp boy's lack of awareness about his surroundings.

Kirsten's remark must have caused some concern to the nurse because he frowned momentarily.

"Are you having a hard time hearing Ryan?"

"Ringing…" the boy panted out.

"Ringing?" The nurse asked in clarification.

"My ears are ringing." Ryan repeated.

"hmm." The nurse said and made a note on a chart.

"Is that bad?" Kirsten asked.

"it's worth keeping an eye on- meningitis can have complications with hearing but sometimes the antibiotic also has a side effect of ringing so for now we will make a note of things. The doctor may have some tests done a bit later too to check for problems."

"Ok." Kirsten remarked the worry of a possible complication evident on her face.

"Let's not jump to conclusions yet. Let's just give the treatments time to work. Ryan's doing well overall the cranial pressure doesn't seem to be increasing and he is maintaining his oxygen levels with a little help. Plus his temperature is still decreasing."

"You're right thanks- I just worry."

"That's what mom's do. Just hit the call button if you guys need anything more. Are the meds helping a little Ryan?"

Ryan gave shaky thumbs up in response and then once more shut his eyes after the respiratory therapist placed the breathing mask over his face for his treatment.

"I'll be back in ten minutes too once the treatments done." Jenny said and followed Ryan's nurse out to the nurse's station.

As they left Kirsten gently stroked the teens head and prayed that everything would be okay with Ryan's hearing- the boy certainly didn't need any more problems.


End file.
